Anything
by Inkish Quill
Summary: Lily had always disliked James...immensely. In their final year at Hogwarts, Lily and James are made Head Girl and Boy and forced to spend a lot of time with one another. Lily starts to realize that James isn't the guy she thought he was. To make things even more interesting, the Head Boy and Head Girl are forced to share a separate dormitory. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I've written a few Fan Fiction stories before, but they are left unfinished MAINLY because life intervened (as it will) and I totally 110% forgot what I was writing. But I wanted to finish the story about Lily and James, but re-write it and change a billion things that I didn't like about my original story. My writing has changed (dare I say improved?) over the years, and I want to utilize that. So, this story will _almost _be like **A Love So Strong** only…not?

Please read and review! Thank you!

Anything

Chapter One: The Return

Lily Evans pushed the trolley purposely through the crowd, making her way to platforms 9 ¾. Out of habit, she thoroughly checked the area to make sure no one was paying attention to her. As always, the muggles were so engrossed in their daily commutes that nobody spared her a second glance.

_The little concealment charm helps, _Lily thought thankfully. She braced herself and made a run directly into the pillar that separated platforms 9 and 10.

Lily was greeted to the wondrous sight of the Hogwarts Express and a hundred thousand voices buzzing amongst the crowd. Parents biding their children goodbye, friends greeting each other after a long summer away. The steam engine expelling steam from the chimney. Lily closed her eyes for half a second, savouring the smells and sounds and anticipating her return to home. She put the back of her hand to her eyes, making sure that the freshening up spell she had used in the bathroom before heading to the platform had at least gotten rid of those pesky tears.

"Lily!" a familiar voice shouted, and suddenly Lily was engulfed in a furry of soft brown hair, arms, and the familiar scent of lavender. She relaxed into one of her oldest friends' embraces.

"Alice! I've missed you! How was your summer?" Lily demanded, pulling back from her best friend to expect her. Alice had her regular rosy tint to her plump cheeks.

"It was brilliant," she exclaimed, her hands still on Lily's arms. "Frank and I spent the entire summer travelling."

"That sounds lovely," Lily said genuinely, despite the small twang of jealousy she felt. Not because she envied Alice's happiness with her boyfriend of three years, but because _her _summer had been quite horrible. She'd spent it at home with her wonderful parents and her estranged sister.

"Yes, and Lily…" Alice smiled, biting her lip and shyly lifting up her left hand. A modest yet gorgeous diamond ring caught the sun light and glittered brightly.

"Oh my Godric!" Lily squealed, grasping Alice's hand in her own to inspect the ring. "It's simply _stunning _Alice! He purposed?!"

"He sure did, on top of the Eiffel tower no less!" Alice giggled.

"Isn't Frank terrified of heights?" Lily laughed. Alice nodded. "You _have _to tell me how he pulled that one off!"

"Oh I will!" Alice promised, nodding. "But I want to find Margo, since I'll have to repeat it anyway." Their conversation was interrupted by the shrill whistle of the train, alerting the students to start boarding.

"Well, let's go get a compartment," Lily said. She pushed her trolley to the baggage cart and boarded the train, Alice's arm slung comfortably in hers.

"I'm sure if Margo's here, she's in our regular compartment," Alice mused as they battled their way through the clusters of students clogging the hallways.

"Please pick a compartment and get settled," Lily found herself repeating multiple times in her most stern tone, the shiny H badge on her chest proclaiming her status. The older students knew to listen to the Head Girl, but a few pesky first year boys tried to argue with her.

"And _why _should we listen to you? You don't _own _the train," one shaggy looking boy scoffed, ignoring her request and rolling his eyes. His friends chuckled along with him.

"She's the Head Girl, and you'd do well to listen to her," a voice scolded from behind them. "You've only been here for five minutes, you're new to Hogwarts so your daftness will be forgiven. Now get in a bloody compartment and find a seat before you're offered up to the Giant Squid!"

The voice sounded frighteningly familiar, and Lily turned around to see James Potter standing a few paces behind her. On either side of him was his friends Remus Lupin and Petter Pettigrew. Remus was looking exhausted as always, his longish soft brown hair almost obscuring his eyes completely. Peter was short and round, and his eyes were always a little to glassy to Lily. Almost…rodent like. Then there was James. Lily could already feel her blood boiling, a knee jerk reaction that James Potter caused her.

"That wasn't necessary," Lily frowned, resenting the fact that he'd come to her rescue. _Again_.

_Do I _look _like a damsel in distress_? She asked herself.

"But effective," James pointed out, rolling his hazel eyes. "Don't be such a prune, Evans. I merely want to get to an empty compartment _before _the train leaves."

Lily couldn't help but check him out, which only made her more angry. To say that James Potter was one of _the most _attractive guys at Hogwarts was an underestimation. This summer had only been good to James, his shoulders appeared broader and his muscles more defined. He'd always been in shape but somehow, he'd grown up.

Lily didn't like that _at all._

"Next time, don't threaten students with the Giant Squid," Lily said, gently tugging Alice's arm further. It angered her that James and his friends were close behind her, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Finally, Lily and Alice came to the compartment they usually rode in. They were unsurprised to see their other best friend, the third member of their little Gryffindor trio, Margo Chastings, already seated in the compartment. They were also barely surprised to see her tangled up in the limbs of a boy (although Lily had to laugh inwardly, usually Margo waited until the first day of classes to find a new boyfriend).

No, what surprised Lily was the guy that Margo was kissing.

"_Sirius Black_?!" Lily's jaw fell. Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend. He was tied with James for the hottest guy at Hogwarts title, and they could almost be brothers. Sirius had black hair that hung just above his shoulders, and startling grey eyes. He was in fairly decent shape too, although James had him beat for muscle mass.

"There ya are mate!" James said, gently easing past Lily and into the compartment.

"Oh bloody hell Margo!" Lily grumbled, shooting her friend a dirty look. Margo stared back at her with innocent chocolate brown eyes.

"What?" she questioned, batting her lashes.

_Good thing I'm required to meet with the new Prefects, _Lily thought, appeasing herself slightly. She sighed dramatically and sat down in the window seat across from Margo and gave Sirius a steady look.

"Just how long has this been going on for?" Lily asked, gesturing to the two of them. Sirius still had one arm flung around Margo's petite shoulders, and Margo was actually resting her head on Sirius. It was disconcerting.

"Since this summer," Margo shrugged as Alice sat down beside her, across from Lily. "Ran into Sirius and James at the World Quidditch Tournament."

"How'd you get tickets for that?!" Lily asked, feeling a little envious of Margo's summer as well.

"A present from my dad," Margo rolled her eyes. Margo's father worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and he was forever trying to buy her affections with expensive gifts, since he had pretty much skipped out on her mother and her when she was a baby. Lily supposed it wasn't an utter shock that her friend landed tickets to go.

"Lucky," Lily said wistfully, ignoring James' gaze. Margo had already filled her in about her new "step sister", and Lily couldn't help but wonder if James had pursed her. It wouldn't surprise her in the least.

_Why do I care_? Lily wondered, catching herself. Remus was carefully loading his carry on above the overhead compartments and Peter had already snagged a seat beside Sirius. _Come on Remus, sit beside me_, Lily silently implored while keeping a smile fixed on her face as she chatted with her friend.

"Ya, I guess," Margo made a slight scowl. "I'm still livid at him for not letting me ask you guys. Instead he made me go with his _new _wife and her daughter. Bloody horrible, until I ran into these blokes."

"How was your summer, Evans?" James inquired, plunking down beside her.

"Fine," Lily said, rolling her eyes and reminding herself to give Margo and Alice hell later for allowing _him _to sit beside her.

Her summer _hadn't _been fine, not even close, but Lily wasn't about to share that information with James Potter. Her summer had been tense and unpleasant. Lily's older sister, Petunia, was still livid about the whole witch thing. Ever since Lily received her letter of acceptance to Hogwarts, Petunia had changed towards her. She mostly gave Lily the silent treatment, believing her cruel words weren't even worth wasting on her freak of a sister. Lily's parents, on the other hand, were forever proud of all of Lily's accomplishments and clapped with glee every time Lily showed them her magic, which fuelled Petunia's hatred even more so. Still, Lily had foolishly believed her sister - who she was once so close to - would eventually pull her head out of her arse and come around. This summer proved that that wasn't _ever _going to happen.

In the spring, Petunia had gotten engaged to a miserable bloke named Vernon Dursley. All summer long, Lily tried her hardest to be there for her sister and help through wedding functions like the bridal shower and in wedding plans, but every time Petunia ignored her or refused to let her participate. It cut Lily deep, she always envisioned her being Petunia's Maid of Honour at her wedding. As it stood, one of Petunia's best friends (another uptight nimrod) was the Maid of Honour. Lily was forced out of the wedding party with Petunia's weak excuse that "Vernon was an only child and it wouldn't be _fair _to have her sibling in the wedding party when he couldn't have one of his own." It was a bogus excuse that had wounded Lily deeply, but her parents bought it well enough. Or at least, they knew better than argue with the bride.

That morning, Lily awoke to an odd sight; _Petunia _had offered to drive her to the station. After spending all summer acting as if Lily was the scum of on her shoe, there she was waiting in the kitchen for Lily to finish eating breakfast. Their parents were ecstatic, and so was Lily.

Lily couldn't help but relax her guard, believing that Petunia was regretting how she acted for the past six years.

Petunia silently pulled up to Kings-Cross station. For the past hour she had silently listened to Lily's constant babble about the upcoming (in November) wedding. She barely uttered a word, and by the time Petunia parked the car in the drop off section, Lily was beginning to feel uneasy.

"Well, alright then. Thanks for the ride Tuney," Lily had said, opening the car door.

"Lily," Petunia called, hesitating momentarily. Lily had fallen silent at the sound of her sister's voice. "Do _not _return for my wedding. Vernon and I _do not _want you there. Tell Mum and Dad you're sick, or are too busy turning bloody teacups into bats or whatever it is you do at that sodding school. I do _not _want you there, do you understand me?" She said this with such conviction and anger, 110% serious.

Lily had just nodded, stunned and hurt beyond belief, but too stubborn to admit it. She just managed to get her truck out of the car before Petunia sped off. That's when the tears came.

_None of that matters, _Lily thought fiercely, biting back tears. _But it did_.

The Hogwarts Express let out a loud whistle, and suddenly lurched forward. James' arm instinctively rose to protect Lily from going forward, and she grouchily batted it away.

"I don't need your protection, James," she muttered. "I'm a big girl, I've been on the train before."

"Sorry Evans," James grinned, not sounding sorry at all, probably because his arm had brushed across Lily's ample chest. Lily rolled her eyes and looked out the window, watching the crowd on the platforms disappearing slowly from sight. Parents waving goodbye to their children and younger siblings trying to chase the train. It was a mere seconds before they faded into tiny ants in the distance.

"OH MERLIN! Alice! You didn't tell me Frank _proposed_!" Margo screeched, grabbing Alice's hand with excitement.

"Congrats Alice, Frank's a stand up guy," Sirius said, glancing at the ring briefly before looking back to Margo. "But don't _you _get any ideas," he whispered, a joking grin on his face. Margo batted his arm away from her and glared.

"As if," Margo scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked, sounding a little offended.

"No offence Sirius, but you're just not the marrying type," Margo joked, kissing him playfully on the lips. Sirius grinned.

"I suppose not," he agreed.

"Aren't you a little _young _to be getting engaged?" Peter asked sceptically, peering from around Sirius and Margo's exchange to give Alice an critical stare.

"Aren't you a little daft to be questioning matters of the heart, Pettigrew?" James scolded. Alice smiled gratefully at James, until he continued talking. "You aren't _pregnant_ are you?" he asked Alice, lowering his voice and leaning forward a little. Lily whacked him on the shoulder, scowling. James looked as if he barely felt it.

"Of course not!" Alice said, taken aback. "It's just…with _you know who_ on the rise, it's never too soon…" Alice trailed off.

The compartment grew heavy with silence as they all thought about the trouble arising in the wizarding world. A mad wizard who went by the name of Voldemort was on a crazed rampage to become the most powerful wizard in the world and wipe out all of the Muggle born witches and wizards, who he believed were beneath him. He was recruiting followers and killing anyone who stood in his way. The death toll was already in the hundreds. A war was coming, Lily could feel it. As it was, Hogwarts was the safest place in the world. The Head Master of Hogwarts, Dumbledore, was the _only _wizard that Voldemort feared.

It was definitely a dangerous time, and it unfortunately reminded Lily of the Muggle World War 2, wherein a man decided to exterminate a group of people based on their religion and appearance.

Thinking about it made goosebumps arise on Lily's arms. _She _was a Muggle born, her parents (and sister) were all Muggles. She was exactly what Voldemort was hell bent on exterminating. She was a _Mudblood_.

James noticed the goosebumps on Lily's porcelain skin, he immediately tried to provide reassurance by reaching out to gently put a hand on her leg. Lily moved out of his reach and avoided his gaze.

"It makes perfect sense Alice," Lily said. The rest of the group sombrely nodded in agreement.

For twenty minutes, Lily chatted easily with Margo and Alice about Alice's wedding plans while the rest of the compartment broke out into separate conversations. James and Sirius were talking about Quidditch while Remus and Peter were ideally trying to follow along.

She stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm off to meet with the Prefects," she told Alice and Margo.

"Any idea who Head Boy is?" Sirius asked, a particular expression on his handsome features. His grey eyes smiling with mischief.

"No," Lily said curiously. "It could be anyone really. I just hope it isn't anybody from Slytherin." By anyone, she really meant Severus Snape. The thought of him still overwhelmed her with sadness. Before, well, _the incident by the lake_, he had been one of her closest friends. They had spent hours together in their first year, reading quietly on the grounds or in the library.

On the afternoon of the incident, a certain group of unruly boys (lead by James Potter and Sirius Black) happened to come across them peacefully reading by the lake. James and Sirius instantly started taunting Severus, hexing him so he was held upside down. When Lily had tried to help her friend, Severus had yelled at her to not touch him and called her a filthy Mudblood.

It was part of the reason Lily still couldn't stand James. Well, that and the fact that he was an arrogant, self conceded womanizer didn't help. His cruel prankster ways had cost her a friendship that she had once held dear to her heart. Severus had understood Lily, and listened to her while she rattled on for hours about her sister's cruelty. Now Severus wouldn't even look at her, and when he did happen to talk to her, it was to hurl more insults at her.

"Let's hope not," Margo said, screwing her delicate features into a grimace of disgust. Every last one of them despised Severus Snape for their own reasons. Lily had a reason to dislike him, but she just pitied him.

"Oh, I'm sure it won't be Snape. Don't you have to _like _other people to be a Head? Or at least not be loathed by the entire student population?" Sirius scoffed, exchanging a secretive smile with his mates.

Lily didn't have time to dwell on it. "I'll catch you guys later," she told them, making her way up to the Prefect compartment.

It didn't take her long, despite nearly losing her balance a few times when the train lurched around a sharp corner. She slide open the compartment door, finding eight students already patiently waiting.

There were two new Prefects from each house; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. One boy and one girl. All were in their fifth year and would be joining the 18 older Prefects that Lily didn't have to brief, as they were already familiar with their extra responsibilities.

All eight students turned to stare at her when she stepped inside. There was no sign of the Head Boy yet.

"Hello, my name is Lily Evans. Some of you may know me, others may not. We're meeting right now to discuss what you can all expect from your duties as Prefects this year. But before we get started, we'll have to wait for the Head Boy. He seems to be running a little late," Lily said, smiling.

"Sorry about that," a familiar voice said easily. Lily whipped around and came face to face with James Potter.

XXXX

James couldn't bring his eyes away from Lily's mouth. Her lips formed the perfect 'O' as she wordlessly absorbed the shock of seeing James in the doorway to the Prefect compartment, the shiny H badge hanging crookedly on his broad chest. To her credit, Lily recovered quickly, the only signs of her shock and anger was the pink tinge on her cheeks.

"Right, well, let's get started shall we?" Lily cleared her throat and took a pause before launching into her speech about the important duties of the Prefects.

"There are 26 of you in total, 6 of you in each house. But you are the newest to the ranks which is why you've been called here. James and I will draw up a schedule for your nightly paroles. It is your _job _as Prefects to ensure that the members of your Houses are behaving appropriately, and to ensure that your First Years are settling in comfortably enough. You will supervise students when we go on our Hogsmeade trips."

James couldn't focus on her words. He was too busy appreciating the curves of her body. Not even the Hogwarts robes could hide her perfection.

Absently, James flexed his biceps, wondering if Lily had noticed just how much he'd changed over the summer. Working out every day had given him muscles where he hadn't known it was possible to even _have _muscles. It was all for her, of course. James had been vying for her attention since the first year.

"James?" Lily was asking. Her one eyebrow raised expectantly as she glared at James from over her shoulder.

"Er, yes Evans?" James asked, distracted by Lily's emerald green eyes and the fire that burned behind them. He wasn't delusional, he knew that the fire was her temper, not her attraction. _Not yet, anyway_, he thought.

"I said, _do you have anything to add_?" Lily replied slowly.

"Nope, you've pretty much covered it all," James answered.

Lily tried not to show her obvious distaste.

"Well, that's a wrap! Remember your rounds start _now_, all students _need _to be seated in a compartment by the time we come to Hogsmeade," Lily instructed as the Prefects started filing out one by one, leaving her and James very much alone. Suddenly, the compartment felt even _smaller _than it had with eight Prefects in it.

James took a step toward Lily, and opened his mouth to speak.

"How did you manage this?" Lily hissed angrily. James raised his hands defensively.

"Easy now Evans, I got the same bloody letter you did. I didn't ask Dumbledore for this! I've got my plate full this year as it is with Quidditch," James answered, referring to the fact that he was also Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was confused by Lily's anger. Did she really think he'd somehow weaseled his way into the Head badge _just _to mess with her?

"Great, just _great_!" Lily grumbled, brushing past James and storming out of the compartment. She tried to ignore the tingling sensation the brief touch of his strong arm against her caused. It only made her even more livid.

_What kind of sick joke is this_? Lily wondered angrily as she stormed down the train. Remus Lupin had been a Prefect along with her, so if anyone was going to be Head Boy from Gryffindor, it should have been him. She actually _enjoyed _Remus' company. He didn't make her seethe with anger the way _James Potter_ did. Worst of all, James being Head Boy meant that they'd need to share a dormitory.

Distracted as she was with all her internal anger, Lily didn't see Severus Snape until she had already collided with him. She fell back, grabbing the wall of the train to steady herself.

"Watch where you're going Mudblood," Severus snapped, glaring at her through his greasy black fringe with hatred. Lily shivered against his glare, wondering how someone could go from being her friend to hating her so much.

"Don't you _dare _call her that," James boomed, having been just steps behind Lily. His wand was drawn, pointed right at Severus Snape's greasy face. "I will hex that smug look of your disgusting face," he promised, seething with anger. Seeing the pain Lily's eyes had flared his temper and he was dangerously close to snapping. Severus' own wand was drawn, fixed on James' chest.

"I'd like to see you try," he muttered darkly, sneering.

"Stop it! The BOTH of you!" Lily demanding, putting her hand on James' chest to prevent him from charging Severus. She rose her other hand towards Severus, but he shrunk away from it as if she had some kind of contagious disease.

"Just because you're Head Girl doesn't mean the likes of you can boss me around," Severus said maliciously, glaring daggers at both James and Lily.

"Evans, are you -" James began.

"Don't," Lily warned him, glaring at him. "You do nothing to help the situation, with your threats and your insults."

James clenched his jaw in restrained anger and stepped closer to Lily. Her hand was still on his chest. James' intense gaze rendered her immobile. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she fought to find her voice.

"_Nobody_ has the right to call you that," James told her intensely, his hazel eyes drinking in the started expression. Lily let her hand drop and took a cautious step back.

"Maybe if you hadn't _bullied him_ so much during the first two years, he wouldn't be so horrible now," Lily said after a moments pause, her voice soft yet sad. She didn't want for him to respond. She turned around and continued down the length of the train to their compartment.

James watched her go, full of regret for the way he had behaved those early years. _Will she ever forgive me? _he wondered.

XXXX

It was dusk by the time the train pulled into the Hogsmeade station. Lily and James set to work organizing the students into groups to take the carriages pulled by thestrals, magical creatures that couldn't been seen unless you witnessed someone die. Not many students had, in fact most of the student body thought the carriages pulled themselves. Lily only knew of the thestrals from a report she did on them in her Magical Creatures class in second year. She couldn't see them.

The Prefects were split into groups to help, a portion of them were leading the First Years over the lake to the castle. They would enter the Great Hall after all the other students were settled, so the sorting into houses could begin.

"Alright, this is the last carriage," James told her. He opened the door and looked expectantly at her.

"I'd rather walk," Lily muttered, but got in anyway. James chuckled and slide in after her.

"You know, you don't hate me as much as you _think _you do," he told her, self assured. He sat down across from her and gazed at her intently with a crooked grin on his handsome face.

Lily pursed her lips, biting back a smile. "You over estimate yourself James, you always have."

James looked hurt for a moment, then he smiled. "Or perhaps you underestimate me."

"Perhaps, but I doubt it," Lily mumbled, looking out the window. The carriage ride to the castle would take about half an hour. _Another _half hour stuck with James. _Better get used to it, _she warned herself, thinking about the dormitory they would soon share.

"Evans, I've changed since the first two years," James said, leaning forward intently. Lily glanced at him, his eyes were serious and full of longing.

"Have you? I still catch you taunting Severus and hexing him every chance you get," Lily retorted, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

"That's different, and you know it. Snape doesn't hesitate to hex me either," James' jaw was clenched. "It's self defence."

"Maybe now, but perhaps if you weren't such a colossal arsehole the first two years to him, he wouldn't feel the need to -"

"I regret that Evans, I do," James interrupted, serious.

"Why do you feel the need to tell me all this?" Lily demanded. Her resolve was waning. She knew it wasn't _fair _to hold a grudge, especially if that person had changed. She wouldn't want someone forever judging her based on a few mistakes. _But it's not just a few, _Lily thought. _It's _a lot _of them, and he's so arrogant!_

"I'm telling you this because I _need _you to know, I need you to understand. I'm not…I'm not that guy I was back then. I never was, honest," James tried to explain. He hesitated. How was he supposed to tell Lily that the only reason he taunted Severus Snape so relentlessly those first few years was because he was _jealous_ of him? Jealous of the easy friendship he had with Lily? Jealous that Lily would rather spend her time hanging out with _him _than James?

Lily sighed, exasperated. "I don't want to spend this entire year _fighting _with you, James." she gently massaged her temple, feeling a headache coming on.

"Nor do I, that's the last thing I want," James told her, deadly serious. His eyes were full of heat, so much heat that it started to burn a tingling sensation in Lily's stomach, just below her belly button. Lily looked away and bit her lip. "Just…let me start over," James begged.

"Start over?" Lily questioned, looking at him curiously. He looked serious, deadly. The heat that was in his eyes a moment before was replaced with vulnerability. It was…disconcerting. Lily had never seen James Potter look _vulnerable _before. She felt the resentment she felt towards him melt a little.

"Let me prove to you that I'm not that guy, let me…" James trailed off, searching for the right words. "Let me be your friend."

"I'll think about it," Lily managed cautiously after a moment, looking back out the window. The castle loomed ahead in the distance, and she wished more than anything they were already at the castle and out of this cramped carriage, where his closeness was too much.

James seemed satisfied with that answer, and leaned back in his seat. He watched her while she stared out the window, a sense of hope settling upon his shoulders.

They were silent for the rest of the ride, but the moment the carriage stopped they were out and running, instructing the students to hurry up and sit at their tables.

In no time at all, the House tables were brimming with students. Conversation filled the hall as students discussed their summers away. Lily slid beside Alice on the bench, nodding hello to her fellow house mates.

Suddenly, a silence fell upon the hall as Professor Dumbledore wordlessly stood up.

"If I could have your attention please," his voice said, penetrating the silence. Every eye was already upon him, so he smiled. "We will begin the sorting."

At his words, a parade of young students filed into the Great Hall and came to a stop near the staff table. The First Years all looked nervous, a few more than others. There must have been nearly two hundred new students.

Dumbledore explained how the sorting hat worked, and the ceremony began. It carried on for over an hour and a half, and by the time the final student was sorted into Hufflepuff, Lily's stomach was grumbling with hunger.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry," Dumbledore started his speech, his eyes magically glinting as he surveyed the students in the Great Hall.

Lily listened intently to Dumbledore's speech, allowing the frustrations of the day (and discovering the James was Head Boy) melt away. Before long the Great Hall was alive with the sound of forks and knives scrapping against the golden plates. Roast Beef, gravy, golden potatoes, veggies, the whole nine yards.

It didn't take long for the buzzing of conversation in the Great Hall to dull down as the students grew wary with sleep.

Again, Dumbledore stood up to dismiss the students to their dormitories for the night. Lily stood up, stretching her wary limbs. She went to follow her Gryffindor housemates to the Gryffindor dormitory.

"Where are you going, Evans?" James asked curiously. "You realize we no longer sleep in the Gryffindor tower, right?"

"Of course I realize that," Lily snapped, her patience thin. "I'm making sure the First Years get there."

James cocked his eyebrow, gesturing to the Gryffindor Prefects that had already set to collecting the First Years.

"I think they can handle it," he commented.

Lily glanced at her friends. It was going to be the first time that they _didn't _room at Hogwarts. Alice and Margo looked as if they were thinking the same thing as she was.

"Well, we'll catch you tomorrow in lessons," Alice said, smiling her reassurance.

"Yeah, try not to kill each other, alright?" Sirius joked, patting James on the back but directing his comment mainly to Lily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I realize that Lily was supposed to be very good and sweet natured and _she is_, but she's human and I wanted to write her with a little bite. So, this chapter you're going to see some jealousy as she's very conflicted over her feelings for James.

Please, read and _review_!

**Anything**

Chapter Two: A Second Chance

James lead the way to the Head's dormitory. He knew the castle like the back of his hand…as did his friends. They had even created a map in the fourth year to detail all the secret passageways and rooms of the castle. Knowing it as well as James and his friends did meant that they _never _ran out of things to do. Although James and his friends (self dubbed the Marauders) knew plenty more about Hogwarts than most of the student body (and even some of the teachers), James knew he didn't know _all _of Hogwarts secrets, and doubted that he ever would.

He rolled his shoulders, feeling at ease in the castle. Feeling _at home_.

"I missed being here," he commented to Lily, longing for her voice to fill the silence that accompanied their footsteps.

"I did too," Lily remarked, yawning.

"Tired, Evans?" James smiled, gently putting his arm around her shoulders. Lily frowned slightly and wiggled away.

"Yes," she said cautiously.

"We're nearly there," James told her, withdrawing his arm and trying to ignore the sting of rejection he felt.

Lily studied him intently, the way his jaw had clenched when she'd pulled away from him, the reflection of hurt in his eyes, and she felt…_guilty_.

_Why should I feel guilty? _she asked herself, chewing her bottom lip. _It's James bloody Potter!_

"Here we are," James said, tossing her a sheepish smile. "Sorry about…well, the arm thing," he'd had time to think it over and realized it _probably _wasn't the best move. "I didn't mean anything by it, it was a totally platonic move."

"It's alright…" Lily answered awkwardly, glancing at the painting of the frumpy old wizard.

"Password?" he said, his green eyes twinkling at the pair of them.

"_Hippogriff_," James answered. The frumpy wizard nodded once, winked at them and then swung forward to reveal their new dormitory.

Lily stepped inside, taking in her new surroundings with a gasp of awe.

The common room was large, big enough to hoist meetings with _all _the Prefects comfortably. Two large, comfortable looking red couches sat in the middle of the room with a coffee table in between them. There was ceiling to floor bookshelves along the entire length of two walls, encasing the common room in books. A fireplace threw off a comfortable amount of heat, and the mantel was full of little knick knacks that Lily touched gingerly with her index finger.

To the right was a small galley kitchen. Lily walked over there next, opening the cupboards and finding them brimming with snack foods, coffees, and teas.

"That'll come in handy on all the late nights well be having," James remarked, impressed. He was standing on the other side of the counter, leaning on it casually. At his words, Lily felt the heat raise to her cheeks and her heart flutter.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! I meant with our Head duties, and my Quidditch stuff, and school in general," James quickly said, bemused by her response. "I didn't mean it, you know…_that way_, although I won't lie, that would be nice."

He was watching her intently, his eyes were full of heat. A tingling sensation knotted in her stomach, just below her belly button. James absently ran a hand through his hair, and went to say something.

"Don't be a pervert, James," Lily scolded, breaking eye contact with him. She gingerly stepped around him and headed towards the hallway, where the bathroom and two bedrooms were.

The bathroom was fantastic, with a soaker tub and a shower. _No more having to share a bathroom with a bunch of girls_, Lily thought, relieved. _Although…I'll have to share it with _him_, _she added, frowning slightly.

"We'll work out a schedule for the bathroom," she told him, continuing on down the hall. It was disconcerting to have him walking so close behind her, and her heart fluttered with anticipation and…_want_.

_What the hell Lily! Get a gripe_, she told herself firmly.

There was one door on her left and one on her right. The one on her right had a little plaque with "Head Girl" carved into it. The one on her right had the same thing, only it said "Head Boy".

"Well that solves the fight over the rooms," James joked.

"I wonder…" Lily thought aloud, opening the door to her new room. Her trunk was already at the foot of the large queen sized bed. The room was done up in Gryffindor red and gold, with a wardrobe, a dresser, a desk and a night table. She stood in the center of the bedroom, looking back at James with a coy smile upon her face.

James felt his body respond to her, smiling coyly in her room and standing so close to her bed. He tried to check his thoughts before they could get carried away.

"You wonder what?" James asked.

"Come here," Lily said, _almost seductively_ to James's ears. Then and again, he thought everything she said and did was seductive.

He cleared his throat, feeling as if his shirt collar was tightening. _She's not asking _for that, _you wanker_, James scolded himself. Nevertheless he couldn't help the ridiculous grin that spread on his face.

"Asking me into your room so soon, Evans? And I thought _I _was the perv," James grinned, taking a step forward. He collided into what _felt _like a stone wall, but was actually an invisible magic barrier.

"Just as I suspected," Lily laughed. The surprised look on James's face had been worth it. "Good night James!" she added, before using her wand to slam the door in her face.

Once alone, Lily flopped down onto her comfortable bed and bit down on her lip, trying to slow her still quickening heart. _What's gotten into me_? She wondered.

XXXX

The next morning, Lily awoke to the sunlight streaming in from her window and going right into her eyes. She stretched comfortably, muddled with sleep and trying to make sense of the dreams she'd had, involving her new roommate. She was frustrated with herself but they had been…_pleasant._

Groaning, she rolled over and glanced at the clock on her night table.

"Bloody hell," Lily said, shooting up out of bed quickly and wiping the sleep from her eyes. She had less than less than 45 minutes to get ready and have breakfast. Lessons would follow immediately after. She dressed quickly and then used a quick freshening up spell on herself, since a shower was now out of the question.

She grabbed her wand and book bag, making her way hastily to the loo. The door was open, so she went to walk in but was met with a surprise.

James was brushing his teeth, standing in front of the sink clad in _nothing _but a towel around his waist. How could she _not _look? It'd be a crime not to.

He definitely _had _spent the summer getting familiar with a gym, and the pay off was incredible. James had muscles in all the right places. She'd be blind to deny that he was obviously _very _attractive.

_But _I'm_ not attracted to him, _Lily thought meekly, mouth still agape. _Yes you are, very much so,_ a small voice inside her head admitted.

"Morning Evans," James nodded before leaning into the sink to rinse his mouth. He put his tooth brush in the holder and dried his face on a towel, then turned to face her.

"You could have closed the bloody door," Lily muttered, averting her gaze quickly. "If you don't mind, I need to use the loo before tomorrow, preferably."

"It's all yours," James said thickly, looking right at her. His hazel eyes holding more meaning and making Lily's pulse jump. She stood aside so he could get passed, but he still unintentionally brushed up against her, as his body was too large to fit through the narrow doorway with her standing in the way.

Lily slammed the door when he'd cleared it, and all but growled inwardly when she heard him chuckling as he walked to his room in nothing but that _bloody _towel. It was almost as if he was _enjoying _making her flustered.

_Well, two can play at that game, _Lily told herself as she showered, smiling smugly as she remembered the look on his face when she invited him into her room the night before.

Thankfully, James hadn't waited for her. Lily made her way quickly to the Great Hall, sitting down beside Alice and intently ignoring James's gaze.

"Nice to see you two haven't killed each other yet," Sirius remarked as Lily's plate magically filled with pancakes and sausages. He was sitting across from Lily, beside Margo and James. He had his arm around her best friends shoulders, and Margo was leaning slightly towards him. Margo swatted him gently in warning.

"Yeah, it's a bloody Christmas miracle," Lily muttered darkly. Her mood had turned foul as she couldn't quite chase away the image of James in the towel. It was frustrating.

"Someone wake up on the wrong side of bed?" Sirius raised his eyebrow, drawing away from her as if she was about to bite his head off. Margo sent him another warning look and smiled apologetically at Lily.

Lily chose to ignore him, focusing her attention instead on her breakfast. She looked up from her plate only when Sirius had completely engaged himself in a conversation with his friends and Margo.

"Does this mean we'll be seeing the lot of them more?" she whispered to Alice, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yup," Alice grinned. "Better get used to James, Lily."

_Great_, Lily thought, feeling mostly irritated by it…but she also felt a little happy, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. _It's James bloody Potter_! She reminded herself.

XXXX

The first day flew by, and the Professors wasted no time assigning homework to their students. In no time at all, Lily found herself sitting at the Gryffindor table eating dinner with four more added on to their group, just like at lunch.

"I know you're dating Sirius, but must the rest of the group accompany him every where he goes?" Lily mumbled to Margo, tilting her head in James's general direction. She realized with contempt that Annabel Westlink, a sixth year Gryffindor with long curly black hair and brown eyes, was flirting heavily with him. Annabel was in the midst of laughing shrilling and putting her hand gloriously on James's upper arm. He said something to her, and she laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Lily didn't know why it bothered her so much, but it did. _It's just irritating_, she thought. She didn't even hear Margo's reply, she was too busy stabbing the food on her plate.

"I'm feeling overwhelmed already," Peter whined from across the table, drawing Lily's attention from the Annabel-James flirting session. "I don't want to do it, it seems almost pointless."

"What do you mean almost pointless?" Remus asked him, frowning. Even James turned to give his friends' his full attention, living Annabel pouting slightly. Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Annabel.

"It's just this business with, you know. The War and everything," Peter explained. His watery eyes darting back and forth from each of his friends as he gauged their reaction to his little outburst.

"You may learn something that will come in handy after we graduate," Lily told him, unable to stop herself. "Besides, the Ministry doesn't accept Aurors who don't have their N.E.W.T.'s" She knew that James and Sirious wanted to become Aurors, and that Remus had expressed an interest too. She wasn't sure about Peter though.

Come to think about it, she didn't really know Peter at all.

"Are you planning on becoming an Auror?" James asked Lily curiously, drawing his full attention to her and looking at her intensely.

"Of course, I want to do everything I can to help stop…the war," Lily answered, trailing off. She tried to ignore Annabel's dirty looks but secretly felt pleased that she'd drawn James's attention away from the busty brunette. She tried to tell herself it was just because Annabel shamelessly flirted with any and every good looking guy at Hogwarts and the girl was straight up _rude _to other females. How she got sorted into Gryffindor was beyond even Lily's understanding.

"You definitely have the grades," Remus told her, and Lily smiled her thanks.

"It doesn't take just _grades_," Annabel rolled her eyes. "You have to be brave. No offence Lily, I don't think you have it in you to be _brave_."

"How the bloody hell do you know?" James asked before Lily could retort. His voice was uncharacteristically stern. "I think she'd make a great Auror."

"You only think that because you want to bed her," Annabel scoffed, her face red. "Exactly why I said that, because she always lets people rise to her defence. Whatever, I'm out." She stood up to leave, grabbing one of her friends by the arm and all but dragging the poor girl away from her half finished plate of dinner.

Lily _should have _been angry about what Annabel said, but she couldn't help feeling smug that James had defended her. She felt a little victorious too. Plus…James hadn't even argued with the whole bedding her thing. At that thought, Lily felt the warmth spread in her stomach pleasantly, and she quickly looked away from James's to her plate.

"Well, that exchange was awkward," Sirius joked, loosening his collar playfully. The group fell silent as they watched Professor McGonagall head towards them from the staff table.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter, I'd like to see the both of you in my office after your finished your suppers," Professor McGonagall said sternly.

"Yes Professor," Lily and James said in unison.

"It's about the schedule for the Prefects and our Hogsmeade trip days," Lily explained, rolling her eyes at the inquisitive looks of her friends.

"Bollocks, I didn't -" James started, but was interrupted by Lily.

"I know you didn't, I've handled it," she told him, her voice gentle. It was why she'd stayed up so late last night. She couldn't settle, and any time she did she thought of James and that curious sensation she felt whenever he looked at her. _She was feeling it even now_, it was beginning to get a little irritating. _Kind of_.

"Well thank you very much, Head Girl," James said.

The Great Hall was beginning to clear out as students made their way out to enjoy the evening before curfew. Soon it was only the seven of them.

"I'll be seeing you later," Alice told them. "I want to get to the Owlery to mail a letter before curfew."

"We're going to go back to the common room," Margo added, glancing knowingly at Sirius.

"We might as well go play a game of Wizarding Chess," Remus said, and Peter nodded. They stood up and followed Sirius and Margo out of the Great Hall after they all said goodnight to one another.

"Well, that was quick," James joked. "Do I smell or something?"

"Yes," Lily replied, smiling. She stood up. "Well, I might as well go back to the dorm. I'll need to get the schedules and what not…" she added awkwardly.

"I'll come with you," James offered. He stood up as well and they made their way to the Heads dormitory.

_This isn't a good idea_, Lily thought. She went up to the dorm with him anyway.

James waited in the common room while Lily fetched the parchments from her bedroom, and they made their way quickly to Professor McGonagall's private office. Several times along the walk, James resisted the urge to take Lily's hand…just for the contact.

When they came to Professor McGonagall's office door, James knocked firmly twice.

"Come in," Professor McGonagall's stern voice answered, and the door swung open at her words.

"Good evening Professor," Lily greeted, sitting down in the first chair in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. James grinned at her and winked. _How typical, _Lily thought, bemused.

"Good evening Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said. She put down her quill and looked up at them with stern yet affectionate eyes. Professor McGonagall was quietly passionate about her students, she loved them like her own children, especially her Gryffindor students, but she was always stern with them. "How are you finding the Heads' dormitory?" she questioned.

"It's large, and quiet, very peacefully," Lily answered honestly.

"Nobody's snoring but my own," James added, grinning. "Well, unless Evans' puts a silencing charm on her room. Regardless, I haven't slept better in years!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Professor McGonagall said, nearly smiling. "Our Head students get their own dormitory, as you know, so that they can be anywhere almost immediately and not upset the rest of the students around them. That and your duties require constant communication and work."

Lily and James nodded in unison, having already been aware of all this, but they let Professor McGonagall detail what she expected of them regardless.

As her Professor and House leader spoke, Lily found her thoughts venturing elsewhere…to James, mainly, and how _delectable _he'd looked that morning in just a towel.

_Delectable? _Lily asked herself, almost wanting to laugh aloud.

If someone had told her that she'd enter the new Hogwarts lesson year _being attractive _to James, she'd have laughed at them. Sure, she'd always thought he was very attractive, but the whole Severus Snape thing had kept her resentment pretty high. She and Severus had been friends before Lily had even received a letter to Hogwarts. _Although, when it comes to his friends…he does stand up for them, _Lily thought, thinking about how James had _never _hesitated to rise to the defence of those he cared about. Like in the Great Hall at dinner…

"Now, do you have the schedules for the Prefects drawn up? The Hogsmeade date picked?" Professor McGonagall was asking.

"Oh, yes," Lily said quickly, fumbling for the parchment. She handed it to Professor McGonagall and waited while she read it.

"Yes, very good," Professor McGonagall nodded her approval. With a wave of her wand, the parchment disappeared. "I've sent copies out to all the Prefects," she said, noticing Lily and James's curious looks.

"We thought that October 15th would be a good day for the Hogsmeade trip," Lily said. "Then the students can shop for their Samhair Ball dresses and robes."

"Yes, that's perfect," Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, then turned to look directly at James. "And have you picked a date for try outs?" she asked, referring to Quidditch.

"Don't worry your pretty head about it Professor, try out's are held tomorrow and the next day," James grinned, winking.

_Only James can get away with talking to Professor McGonagall that way_, Lily thought, suppressing the urge to smile.

"Good. I've grown accustomed to winning," Professor McGonagall answered, traces of a smile playing on her lips. "Now, you best be returning to your dormitory. I still expect you both to maintain your amazing marks."

"Of course Professor," Lily said sincerely, standing up. James followed suit, also nodding.

"Well, that was easy," James commented, grinning as they walked down the corridors towards their dormitory. Lily was growing more and more nervous with each step she took, and she couldn't explain why. "I remember back when being called to McGonagall's office used to mean instant trouble," James continued.

"Yeah…I remember that well," Lily said pointedly, giving him a look. "Why'd you guys stop with the pranks anyway?"

"Who said we stopped? Maybe we've just gotten better at it," James joked. His face grew serious after a moment. "I guess the gang and I just haven't really felt that pranking urge, what with the war…"

"Oh," Lily bit her lip. It certainly made sense.

"We've just got a lot on our plates, all of us," James shrugged. "Maybe we'll get back into it this year."

James paused outside the frumpy wizard painting that guarded their dormitory to give the password. The frumpy wizard swung forward, winking again at the both of them, and they stepped into the common room.

As soon as the painting swung shut, the same tension started building up between the two of them.

"Well, goodnight then," Lily said quickly, turning to head towards her room.

"Wait a minute," James gently grabbed her arm. "It's not even 8pm…"

"I've got a lot of homework," Lily tired.

"We have _the same _classes Evans," James rolled his eyes. "I'm not used to going to bed at such a elementary time."

"Oh?" Lily couldn't help but feel a sense of jealousy, wondering just what James had done to occupy his time. Annabel popped into her mind, throwing back her head to laugh while she touched James's arm. _None of your business_, Lily told herself firmly.

"Yeah, usually I play a game or two of Wizarding Chess…you know?" James gave her a cocky grin, his hazel eyes drinking her up. "Why don't we play?"

"James I -" Lily started, trying to think of an excuse.

"Come on Evans, are you afraid I'll beat you?" James's eyes twinkled.

Lily scoffed. "I doubt that."

"Prove me wrong," James challenged. "Just one game?"

XXXX

"I don't understand why Head's get their own dorm," Lily commented to Alice and Margo as they walked to class the corridors were crowded, but nobody was paying any attention to their conversation. She was wondering how the bloody hell she was supposed to live with James for a year and _not _have anything happen between the two of them.

"Are you complaining about the quiet?" Alice asked her, smiling slightly.

"No, of course not," Lily answered, a little too quickly. She was thinking about the night before, about how _close _James had been…about all the lust she felt towards him. And all over a foolish game of Wizarding Chess. Nothing had happened, but if Margo had been around she surely would have remarked about the "eye shagging" they were doing, and point out all the sexual tension in the room.

She blushed at the memory, embarrassed with herself. Her feelings of attraction for James were getting stronger and stronger, and trying to resist them was getting more and more difficult.

"Spill Lils," Margo demanded. "I know when you're keeping something from us. And you're _keeping _something from us."

"It's nothing, really," Lily muttered, blushing.

"Bull," Margo rolled her eyes. "Just get on with it, before we get to class."

"Okay, fine," Lily huffed. She took a deep, steadying breathe. "I think…I'm attracted to James," she finally said after a moment, her voice low.

Alice and Margo exchanged a glance with one another, and then started laughing hysterically.

"You're _just _discovering this now?" Margo finally managed. "There's been…_something _between the two of you forever."

"No there certainly hasn't!" Lily retorted, blushing even more.

"James's has spent the last 5 years asking you out and vying for your attention. Bloody hell Lils, he's even hexed anyone who ever said anything remotely bad about you!" Margo exclaimed.

"Shhh," Lily demanded, glancing around to make sure nobody was listening to them. Annabel and her friend, the girl she'd pulled from dinner the evening before, Lana McGee, were a few paces behind them.

"I guess I just don't understand what's so wrong with feeling an attraction towards James," Alice pondered.

"Because he's always been an arrogant toerag!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well, he's matured a lot since back then," Margo defended him. "I spent a lot of time with Sirius over the summer - and he lives with James."

Lily pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Lils, we're not saying you need to go out with him or anything, but don't fight your feelings because James _used _to be someone he isn't anymore. To be perfectly honest, I don't even think he ever _was _an arrogant toerag. I mean, he's self assured and has confidence in himself…but is that really a bad thing?" Alice said wisely.

"I suppose not," Lily sighed. "In the carriage on the way to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade…he did ask for second chance…he asked to be friends…"

"So give him one," Alice said, point blank. "It might be the greatest decision of your life."


	3. Chapter 3

**Anything**

Chapter Three: The Marauders

It was nearly 10pm when James finally got back to the Head dormitory. Quidditch practice had run a little longer than anticipated, all because he'd lost track of time and had wanted to work the new additions to the Gryffindor team a little longer.

"Oh, _there _you are," Lily said, frowning. "We're almost late for our rounds."

"Our _rounds_!" James sighed, he had nearly forgotten that he and Lily were supposed to do the late night Hogwarts rounds.

"Let's go then," Lily stood up, abandoning her homework on the coffee table. James glanced longingly toward his bed, but followed her out of the portrait and into the corridors. "How was Quidditch practice?" she asked, filling the silence with her gentle voice.

"Good, I'm feeling more confident about Sunday's game ," James replied, suppressing a yawn.

"I can't believe how quickly you chose new players," Lily commented, shaking her head. James had told her the first night of tryouts that he had pretty much cut everyone but a select few.

"Sometimes you just _know_," James replied. It hadn't been difficult, some of the students who showed up for tryouts had no idea which end of the broom was the front, let alone knew what Quidditch was. He had a talent for sensing talent. Their first game was coming up on Sunday, against Hufflepuff, and James wanted his team to work together flawlessly. His two new team mates were settling in nicely and he was confident they would win the game.

Nearly an hour later, James's legs were beginning to cramp. He resisted the urge to pull the Map out from his robes, it would be so much easier than gallivanting all over the castle.

They chatted about lessons and Quidditch, and silly little Muggle sports that Lily had played before getting her letter of acceptance to Hogwarts.

"Bowling, you say? You throw balls at _pins_? Whatever for?" James was asking as they rounded the corner near the dungeons. They both fell silent, hearing a small group of students. Their voices carried down the corridors, and James and Lily both stopped in their tracks.

"You've gotta make up your mind, _who's side_?"

"You know who's side I'm on," came a voice that sounded all too familiar.

"Severus?" Lily whispered, confounded. She started walking and before James could grab her arm, she was already halfway down the corridor. James quickly followed after her, spotting the group of Slytherins standing conspicuously around Severus Snape. James thought Severus looked torn as he looked at Lily, but when James came into view his expression changed to one of pure hatred.

"Oh look, a filthy Mudblood," one of Severus' housemates, Mulciber said. He leered at Lily. It was obvious he hadn't yet seen James. "It's such a shame that such a flawless body was wasted on _you_." His dark eyes roamed Lily's body unapologetically, and Lily glared at him, her skin crawling with disgust.

James felt a primal growl in the back of his throat. He reached Lily's side quickly, before she had time to reply. "You _all _need to get to your dormitories now, and if we catch you in the halls after curfew again, you'll be reported," he said, his voice low with threats and his hand firmly on his wand. How he longed to hex them into tomorrow for the comments to Lily and the way both Avery and Mulciber were looking at her. _You're a Head Boy_, James reminded himself, trying to reel in his anger.

"Don't get your knickers in a knot," another Slytherin, Avery, laughed. "We're going, just had a bit of _hunger _pains." He smiled a twisted smile and looked at Lily in a way that made James's hands clench in anger.

Avery and Mulciber gave Severus pointed looks, then they headed towards the Slytherin common room. Severus hesitated for a millisecond, then followed them, shooting dirty looks at Lily and James…especially James.

Lily took a deep breath, steadying herself. She hadn't been given the opportunity to talk, and maybe that was just as well. She probably would have demanded to know then and there if Severus Snape was planning on taking the dark mark.

"Next time, wait for me," James instructed, frustrated as he thought about all the scenarios that could have happened had he been any longer reaching Lily's side.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," Lily retorted, angry. Why did James think she was incapable?

"Against three Death Eaters?" James rolled his eyes.

"How do you know Severus is a Death Eater?" Lily's voice shook when she spoke. James had to resist the urge to take her gently in his arms. He knew she'd probably just shrug away from him.

"It's obvious," James shrugged, frowning. "Or if he isn't now, he will be by the end of the year."

"Maybe I could stop him…" Lily thought, unaware that she'd spoken aloud.

"Not a chance in bloody hell," James said. "If someone's going to take the Dark Mark, they're going to take it."

XXXX

The next few days all but flew by. Between lessons, Quidditch practice and Head duties, James was feeling pretty run down by Friday, but he knew he wasn't going to get to bed any earlier than he had been, for it was a full moon.

Remus had been missing from lessons all day. James, Sirius, and Peter hadn't made mention of it once. The last thing Remus needed was more attention drawn to his monthly disappearances.

Remus was a Lycanthrope. When he had been a small child, he was bite by a werewolf. Now, once a month when the moon was full he changed into one himself. Dumbledore lead him out to Hogsmeade through a secret passage blocked by a Whomping Willow for his monthly changes so that he wouldn't harm any students at Hogwarts.

Remus's changes were always painful and extremely isolating. When James, Sirius and Peter had discovered his secret, they'd vowed to keep him company during his monthly changes. They became unregistered Animagi, giving them the ability to be around Remus without danger. James's Animagus form was a stag, Sirius…a large dog, and Peter's was a rat.

Quidditch tryouts ended at 8pm, but James didn't go back to the Head dorm. He had brought everything that he would need with him to the Quidditch field. He didn't know if he could escape Lily's questioning gaze if he went back to their dorm. Instead, he went straight to the Gryffindor tower after tossing his Invisibility Cloak over his body.

Sirius and Peter were waiting in the Gryffindor common room. When they saw the portrait swing forward to reveal nothing but empty space, they knew James was there. They quickly made their departure from the school, all of them hidden under James's Invisibility Cloak.

Once they got to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, James tucked his Invisibility Cloak into a safe spot under a rock and the three friends made their changes into their Animagi forms.

They couldn't communicate with words while in their Animagi forms, but they had long since learned how to communicate without speaking. Sirius nodded his large head, panting, and charged off into the Forbidden Forest. James followed closely behind. He knew Peter was between them somewhere, as he was squeaking as he ran. Peter _hated _the Forbidden Forest, but he hated being left out of adventures even more so.

Besides, he was a key factor in their missions.

When they came to the Whomping Willow, it was still. James knew that it was a front, the tree was violent as all hell. To prove his point, a bird mistakenly landed upon one of the branches. The trees limbs started flailing about manically, striking the little bird in a crazed fury. Feathers puffed out and the tree went still.

Peter squeaked timidly, then darted towards the tree. The tree sensed him and went back into crazed Whomping mode, but Peter was small enough to avoid getting hit by the flailing tree limbs. After a moment the tree froze again, and James heard Peter's squeaking signal.

James and Sirius walked towards the tree confidently, it didn't move. The three friends darted down the passage, towards the shack where their fourth friend waited. The closer they got, the louder the desperately pained howls became. Sirius shouldered through the boarded up entrance to the shack.

James, Sirius and Peter had all grown accustomed to seeing Remus in his wolf form, and it really didn't bother them at all. Remus's howls instantly silenced when he saw his friends in their Animagi forms.

With a tilt of his regal stag head, James lead the way back out of the shack, towards the Whomping Willow. He and Sirius were big enough to keep Remus in check, so that they'd be able to roam the Forbidden Forest and school grounds, providing a very needed distraction for Remus.

The tree had resumed flailing when they finally reached the end of the passageway, Remus beside them. It took half a second for Peter to dart out from under James's hooves and hit the knot in the trunk again, stilling the tree. Remus let out an excited howl and bounced forward, James and Sirius keeping up with him at ease. Any time he got too close to the castle, James and Sirius would block him in and lead him away again.

When dawn was half an hour away, James and Sirius blocked Remus in and lead him back to the Whomping Willow to return him to the shack. Remus seemed to mope, but followed along regardless, knowing that when the sun arose in the sky, he'd be changing back to his human form and waiting for Dumbledore to fetch him. Dumbledore was _always _on time, so they couldn't be late.

When Remus was safely back in the shack, James nodded once to him as if to say _see you later mate_. He, Sirius and James darted back down the passage way and through the Forbidden Forest to the rock that they'd changed at. The sun was just beginning to rise when they all piled under the Invisibility Cloak and hastily made their way back to the castle. James made sure that Sirius and Peter got back to the Gryffindor tower unseen before heading to the Head's dorm, still hidden under the cloak.

James's body ached with fatigue, he couldn't wait to crawl into bed.

When he came through the portrait, he was startled to see Lily sleeping on the couch. A frown furrowing her delicate features. James couldn't help but take in her beauty as she slept.

After a couple of minutes, he shook himself away from thoughts of how beautiful she was and gently made his way over to the couch. He scooped her up in his arms and she didn't wake up. He tried to carry her to her bedroom, but the wards prevented him from doing so.

_I wonder_, he thought, trying the threshold of his own room. He was able to pass through with Lily without any resistance. He placed Lily in his bed, tucked her in and then hesitated. He wanted to crawl in beside her, take her in his arms and fall asleep with her there, but he knew she'd be thoroughly creeped out when she woke up.

Instead, he made himself comfortable on the couch and passed out within seconds.

XXXX

When Lily awoke, she was _not _on the couch where she'd fallen asleep _not _waiting for James. Disoriented, she looked around at her surroundings. The scent of masculinity and fresh air, the scent of James clung to the sheets. A photo of his parents and him and a photo of him with his friends decorated the night table.

_How did I get in here_? Lily wondered, tossing back the sheets and getting out of James's bed. Frowning, she quickly left his room. She heard snoring coming from the common room, so she headed there. James was sprawled out on the couch snoring, an arm over his eyes.

Lily debated on waking him up and demanding to know where he'd been all night, but she thought better of it. Instead, she left their dormitory and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Alice and Margo were already there, sitting at the Gryffindor table and eating their breakfasts. Alice was reading a letter, a wistful smile on her pretty face, and Margo was grouchily stabbing her sausages with her fork.

"Morning," Lily grumbled, falling into a seat across from them both.

"Morning," Alice replied warmly, tucking the letter into the pocket closest to her heart and smiling at her friend.

"What's into her?" Lily asked, gesturing to Margo as her own plate filled with delicious bacon, eggs, toast and sausage.

"Sirius wouldn't wake up to join us for breakfast so she's sulking," Alice replied, smiling.

"I'm _not _sulking," Margo grumbled, sulking.

Lily looked around, noticing that Remus and Peter were also missing. She let out a relieved sigh. If all of James's friends were just as exhausted as he was, surely that meant he hadn't been with Annabel Westlink after all.

"It _is _a Saturday," Alice was telling Margo. "Most people sleep in on the weekends."

"I know," Margo sighed. "It's truly not that…" she bite her lip. "I think I've _fallen _for Sirius."

"And you're mad because?" Alice asked, confused. To her, love was pure and simple; no questions asked. Then and again, Frank hadn't had the same reputation that Sirius and James both had for womanizing.

"I didn't _want _to be the one to feel it first," Margo said, her bottom lip trembling slightly. "I didn't want to _feel things_ for Sirius."

"Then why did you start dating him?" Alice asked, perplexed. Lily bit her lip, understanding completely where Margo was coming from. Last night she'd had a lot of time to think about James and the new feelings she was feeling towards him, and she wasn't a fan of them at all. They frightened her.

"I just wanted a good shag," Margo answered sheepishly, shrugging.

Alice and Lily both started laughing and their friend's honesty. Lily was the only one in their little group who _hadn't _had a whole lot of experience with guys. In fact, she'd never even been kissed. Alice had only been with Frank, and Margo…well, Margo had plenty of experience in the guy department.

Lily opened her mouth to add something to the conversation, but thought the better of it when she saw Annabel and Lana walk into the Great Hall. They came to join them both at the hall. The two girls joined their housemates at the table.

Margo didn't want to discuss the Sirius thing anymore either, so their little group fell silent. Lily had plenty of time to think.

_Remus was missing yesterday, and then James and probably Sirius and Peter were gone all night_…she thought. She knew it was all linked, and it wasn't the first time that James and his friends had gone missing after Remus had been "sick" all day.

A dawning realization occurred to Lily, and she wrapped up a couple sausages, bacon and a few pieces of toast in her napkin.

"Where are you going?" Margo asked her as she stood up.

"Um, I left something in my dorm…"

"Yeah, James," Margo joked. Annabel looked up from her breakfast and glared at Lily. Lily ignored her, and Margo.

"See you guys later," she said, doing her best to not race out of the Great Hall.

She crept quietly into their dorm and was greeted to the sound of James's soft snoring. She crossed over the common room to the couch and sat down on the coffee table, unwrapping the napkin and holding it just in front of James's nose.

The smell of bacon and sausage awoke his senses, and he groaned as he opened his eyes. Lily's blurry vision was in front of him, holding something out in front of his nose. James fumbled for his glasses, accepting them from Lily's outstretched hand.

"You brought me food?" James asked, confused. His voice was groggy with sleep.

"Bacon and sausage," Lily replied, holding it out to him.

"You know the way to a man's heart," James joked, sitting up and stretching. "What time is it?"

"Nearly 11," Lily shrugged. She had also slept in. James nodded, stretched again and accepted the napkin from Lily.

"Where were you last night?" Lily asked as James ate. He nearly choked on the bacon.

"Excuse me?"

"You didn't come back after practice…" Lily trailed off. "Does it have anything to do with Remus?"

"What are you talking about?" James asked, guarded. He set the napkin down on the table and looked right at Lily.

"He's sick every month on the full moon," Lily shrugged, remembering a conversation that she and Severus had had a few years back.

"Your point?" James was trying to keep his guard up, but it was impossible with Lily. He just…_trusted _her but it wasn't his secret.

"I guess I don't have one," Lily mumbled, realizing that James would never give up a secret of one of his friends. "But…you _were _with them right? Not with…" she trailed off again, looking away. Her cheeks heated up with embarrassment and she scolded herself.

"Yeah, I was with the guys," James answered, trying to catch Lily's eye. "Who'd you think I was out with?"

"Oh I don't know, _Annabel_ maybe?" Lily said spitefully, waving her arm dismissively.

"Why would I be with Annabel?" James asked, confused by Lily's stance and questioning.

"Cause she was all but bloody humping your leg in the Great Hall the other day, and she hangs off you like a leech," Lily retorted defensively.

James's smile lit up his whole face. "Are you _jealous _Evans?"

"No, I'm not jealous," Lily's face turned even redder, and she cursed her easily read face.

"Why are you jealous?" James asked, serious again. "What if I _was _seeing Annabel?" he added for effect. He wasn't seeing her, but he wanted to see Lily's reaction. Her face fell and she stuttered, trying to answer and appear nonchalant.

"I-I don't know, Annabel's irritating," Lily said, tripping over her words. She flushed again.

"I thought _I _was irritating?" James raised his eyebrow. Lily looked away, suddenly aware that they were super close to one another. She was sitting on the coffee table, between either of his legs and he was leaning forward, trying to catch her eye.

"You still are," Lily finally said, trying to hide a smile. James gently reached out and touched her chin, directing her face so he could look at her. His hazel eyes set her ablaze, and she forgot to breathe for a moment or two.

"I'm not seeing Annabel, or anybody," James told her, serious. He wanted to add that there was only one girl he was interested in seeing, but he hesitated.

"Well alright then," Lily said, pulling away from his touch and standing up. "I, er, told the girls I'd meet up with them. Later James…don't forget we have rounds again tonight."

Confused, James watched her leave.

_What was that about_? He wondered.

XXXX

The Great Hall was full of excited chatter, as the entire hall talked about the upcoming game. James piled back a large breakfast and encouraged his teammates to do the same. He was already dressed in his Quidditch robes, and he sat with his team mates as his usual pre-game motions dedicated. The Captain of the team needed to be 100% focused on his team.

And yet…he kept stealing glances over to where Lily sat. Their exchange yesterday had been…strange, to say the least.

"James," a voice said close to his ear, making him jump. He looked over to see Annabel standing beside him, a hand on his shoulder and a sedecutive smile on her face. "I wanted to wish you good luck today."

"Er, thanks," James said, moving her hand off his shoulder. Her smile faded a bit, but she leaned forward so he could see the tops of her breasts. James quickly looked away, irritated. He could feel Lily's eyes on him.

"If you win, I have a surprise for you waiting in the Gryffindor common room, but _only _if you win," Annabel said suggestively, trailing her fingers across the back of James's neck and walking passed to join her friends. He watched as Annabel shot a smug look at Lily's crestfallen face. Lily's expression hardened and she looked back at her plate, avoiding making eye contact for the rest of the meal.

James endured his house mates' eager wishes of good luck and left the hall with his team without getting a chance to say anything to Lily. She avoided his gaze entirely.

James and his team mates held their brooms and waited for the boom that signalled the beginning of the game.

"We got this, mates!" James said confidently to his team. "They're _Hufflepuffs_, for bloody sake."

His six team meats cheered. Amil Durnington, the seeker, squeezed his arm, nodding. Suddenly, the signal they were waiting through boomed, and the Gryffindor team mounted their brooms and shot out of the tower. They got into position, the three chasers facing the other teams' chasers, and so on and so forth. The referee realized all four of the balls from the central circle. James caught the Quaffle and the Gryffindors let out a roar of cheering. He tossed it expertly to Katlyn Turk, another seeker on his team, as he dodged a Bludger.

Katlyn threw the Quaffle to Thomas White, the final Gryffindor chaser, new to their team, who had positioned himself in front of the golden hoops. He effortlessly tossed it through one of them, earning Gryffindor ten points.

The game carried on, with the Gryffindor team expertly scoring goals and dodging Bludgers. The Hufflepuff team struggled to stay afloat, they weren't the greatest at dodging Bludgers which gave Gryffindor many opportunities to score.

Paul Seaborn was also new to the Gryffindor team, and he was having trouble keeping the Gryffindor goal posts, which _might _have been a problem if the Hufflepuff chasers hadn't kept getting bashed off their broomsticks thanks to the Bludgers. Gryffindor's two Beaters, Erik Daniels and Mark Burns were expertly bashing the Bludger's at their opponents. It was hard to believe Mark was also knew to the team.

James caught the Quaffle again, shooting it into one of Hufflepuff's unguarded gold hoops. From the looks of it, Hufflepuff was having trouble with it's new members. Half the team had graduated last year, and only two team mates had been playing together for any length of time. James almost felt _bad _for them.

He glanced up, searching out Amil. He saw Amil's shock of black hair and red robes against the cloudy sky, but he was just a blur as he chased after something. Hufflepuff's seeker was right on his tail. _Yup, we've got it_, James thought confidentially as Amil's fist closed around something and lifted into the air triumphantly.

Every Gryffindor in the stands stood up and roared with excitement. The Gryffindor's had won 150 to 50.

James tried to search Lily out in the crowd, and found her shock of red hair. She was clapping with the rest of their house, a smile on her face. He grinned back to her and blew a kiss meant for her.

It was then he noticed that Annabel was standing just in front of Lily, and she eagerly jumped up to 'catch' his kiss. Lily frowned, then turned to leave the stands.

_Bloody hell_, James thought before his team mates collided into him for celebratory hugs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Anything**

Chapter Four: Together

Lily walked back into the castle with Alice, Margo, Sirius, Peter, and a very pale looking Remus.

"Ok, we'll catch you later at the party," Sirius said, quickly kissing Margo on the lips.

"Where are you going?" Margo questioned.

"We're going to need Butterbeer for the festivities," Sirius winked, disappearing with Peter and Remus.

"I should probably stop them, but it's likely futile," Lily sighed. "Besides, I have _no _idea where they're going to even get Butterbeer. The closest place is Hogsmeade and they can't get there any time soon."

"Are you coming to the festivities?" Alice asked.

Lily sighed. "I don't know," she answered. She didn't want to see Annabel throw herself all over James. Even though James _had _said they weren't seeing each other, Annabel's behaviour and loud boosting about the kiss he'd blown at her was making her doubt. Alice had immediately told Lily the kiss was meant for her, but regardless, _everyone _had heard Annabel's offer of a _surprise_ during breakfast.

"Don't be such a prude," Margo waved her hand. "It would be entirely un-Gryffindor-like of you to not celebrate our first of many wins this season."

"I suppose it would," Lily answered, defeated. She knew her friends weren't going to let her back out of this one. The made their way to the Gryffindor tower, pausing outside the painting of the fat lady.

"_Snitch_," Alice said, and the painting swung forward to reveal utter chaos in the Gryffindor common room. The team hadn't arrived yet - they were likely still showering after the game - but every Gryffindor was excitedly chattering about the game.

To be honest, Lily hadn't been overly impressed with the win. Her team played expertly, of course, but Hufflepuff had been so terrible it was too easy for Gryffindor to win. Nevertheless, she was proud.

Lily conversed with her housemates for nearly half an hour, when the painting suddenly swung forward and Remus, Sirius, and Peter stumbled in, carrying large wooden crates full of Butterbeer.

"How on Earth did you manage that?" Lily asked, her mouth agape as the boys plunked down the crates and started handing out Butterbeers.

"Oh, we're talented alright," Sirius winked. "Don't ever doubt that!"

Not even a moment later, the portrait swung open again and the Gryffindor team filed in. The entire Gryffindor common room erupted in cheers as the team was swallowed up by the crowd. Lily waited, for what she wasn't sure. She stood beside Alice, just outside of the chaos and observed.

James's hair was damp from his shower, and he was searching the crowd for someone. Suddenly, Annabel all but jumped into his arms and started went to kiss him. Lily felt her heart drop, and she started for the door. Alice gently grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

In the time that Lily had turned to leave and Annabel had jumped into James's arms, he'd disentangled himself from her and said something that made Annabel's face go beat red. He walked passed her without a second glance and approached Lily and Alice.

"Alice," he nodded, keeping his eyes on Lily. "Evans…"

"Congrats on the win, James," Lily said stiffly, not meeting his eyes. She folded her arms across her chest, the sensation of her heart dropping still fresh in her mind. She didn't like this…_effect_ that James was having on her.

"Thank you," James ran a hand through his head.

"Oh, I think Margo's calling me," Alice offered weakly, leaving them alone. Lily rolled her eyes, there was _no way_ Margo had called Alice, she was too busy tangling tongues with Sirius by the fire.

"Look, Lily," James said, moving closer towards her. Lily backed up so that she was against the wall. "I meant what I said yesterday, about, er, Annabel."

"I know," Lily replied, keeping her voice even and void of the turmoil of emotion she was feeling.

"Prongs! Have yourself a Butterbeer," Peter interrupted, shoving a tankard at James. "You too Lily," he offered the second one to her.

"No thank you Peter," Lily said politely, grateful at the interruption.

"Awesome game, mate!" Peter said, oblivious. James sighed, taking the tankard and clapping Peter gently on the back.

"Thanks," he looked at Lily as if to say _we're not done talking_. Lily shrugged and made her escape, joining Alice by the hearth.

"Frank used to love these celebrations," Alice sighed, staring into the orange flames and missing her fiancé. "I won't lie, as much as I _love _Hogwarts, it's just not the same as it was before. With him here."

Lily couldn't think of a single thing to say, so she gently rubbed Alice's back. "It will be Christmas break before you know it."

The festivities in the Gryffindor common room lasted until nearly 10pm, when Lily _finally _put on her Head Girl tone of authority and sent everyone to bed with a reminder that tomorrow was Monday.

She hugged Alice and Margo and then yawned loudly. "See you guys in Potions tomorrow," she told them before heading out the door. James said a quick goodbye to his friends and darted out after her, eager to keep up.

A few long strides of his and he'd all but caught up to her. "Evans, I didn't get to finish what I was saying earlier…"

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Lily said dismissively. She was exhausted and didn't want to talk about it anymore. She wasn't even sure if there _was _anything to talk about. They continued down the corridors to their dormitory, the silence only broken by the sound of their footsteps.

"_Phoenix_," James said before the frumpy wizard could even ask for the password. The wizard shrugged in his painting and swung forward, allowing Lily and James passage. The walked into the common room.

Lily didn't even have to look at him to feel the heat building between the two of them. Curiosity got the best of her and she looked up at him.

"We should go to bed," she managed, her voice barely a whisper, but she didn't move, not even when James took a hesitate step towards her, then another.

Lily lifted her hand and put it on his chest as if to stop him. She felt his heart beat pounding almost as frantically as hers. His gaze scorched her, set her on fire. It was a curious, pleasant feeling. Lily could feel the warmth spreading, devouring her.

"Lily," James started to say, before Lily interrupted me.

"You called me Lily there…" she commented, curiously looking up at him.

"And?" James challenged, raising an eyebrow. It was true, he'd never called her Lily to her face before. He always referred to her by her surname. He felt Lily's hand tangle up in his shirt and he reached a tentative hand out, tipping her chin so that she was looking into her emerald green eyes. His heart thudded loudly in his chest, this was the moment he'd been waiting for since their first year.

"Lily," he murmured again, before his lips found hers in the gentlest of kisses. James took his time with the kiss, tasting, savouring. He deepened it when she moaned inside his mouth, his right hand tangled in her hair at the nape of her neck as he brought her closer towards him.

Lily lost herself in the kiss, allowing herself to get set on fire by the passion between the two of them. She'd never in all her life felt this way, and she fumbled with words trying to describe it. _Perfect_ was all she could manage, as she fit perfectly into his arms, as his kiss felt perfect.

James was the one to break the kiss several minutes later, his heart thumping wildly and his zipper strained against his arousal. It seemed like both an eternity and also a very short time to Lily. He rested his forehead on hers, his breath warming her lips.

She pushed away from him then, startled with her own body's reactions to the kiss and feeling _his _arousal against her belly, as he was that much taller than her.

"James I -" Lily started to say, touching her swollen lips.

"Tell me you don't want this Lily, tell me right now," James demanded, his voice hoarse. "Tell me you don't want me."

"I…" Lily bit her lip, searching for an answer. "It's not that I don't want this…or you…"

"What is it then?" James asked, keeping his distance yet gently tipping her chin up so she'd look at him again.

"I'm not…I'm not Annabel!" Lily said hotly.

James looked taken aback. "I know that, I'm entirely aware," he told her, frowning slightly.

"I've never…I've never done _this _before," Lily whispered, feeling vulnerability setting on her shoulders.

James frowned deeper, confused, as he thought about what she was saying. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Oh, _oh!_" he said, letting out a breath.

She blushed then, embarrassed by her own inexperience.

"Lily, I'm not asking you to do _that_," James told her, again tipping her chin so she'd look at him. "I'd never expect you to do something you weren't ready for, or didn't want."

"I never said I didn't want it," Lily said, barely auditable. If James hadn't have been standing so close to her, he wouldn't have heard it. His desire for her almost consumed him, and he had to restrain himself from scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to the couch to have his way with her.

But he wanted _more _from Lily than just shagging and snogging.

"I won't lie to you, I _want _you, more than you could ever imagine," James told her, his voice full of heat. Her stomach tightened pleasantly at his words. "But I want to _be _with you Lily, even more than I want that. And trust me, I want that _a lot_," James added, pulling her towards him so she'd feel it.

"You want…to be with me?" Lily asked, having trouble focusing with him pressed against her so.

"This surprises you? I've only been asking you out pretty much every day since First Year," James said, surprised.

"I thought you were razzing me," Lily confessed, biting down on her lip.

"For the smartest witch at Hogwarts, you aren't very bright," James laughed. "Yes, I want to be with you. I want you to be my girlfriend," James added, his voice serious. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but saying that seemed a bit…premature.

"Hmm…" Lily said thoughtfully. "Are you asking?"

"That depends, are you saying yes?" James asked, smiling down at her.

"I suppose I am," Lily answered, without thinking. For once she was following her heart, instead of allowing her brain to spite out facts like how James was a womanizer and all the crap from their past. She was focusing intently on the feelings he arose in her _now_, the way he made her melt with a simple glace. Hell, even the jealousy she felt when other girls talked to him. She'd never really _been _jealous before.

"Well then, you can consider yourself James Potter's official girlfriend," James grinned, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. "But…we might want to lay off the snogging tonight."

"Why?" Lily asked curiously, feeling a little disappointed.

"Because, if you don't stop kissing me like that I'm not going to be able to control my reactions," James whispered in her ear, sending a pleasant chill down her spin.

"Maybe I don't want you to control them," Lily said running her hands along James's hips and looking up at him with desire.

James took a shaky breath to steady himself and closed his eyes. "I mean it Lily, I want to take this slow. I want to savour you."

"Perhaps you should practice some self control then," Lily muttered before grabbing his collar and pulling his mouth to hers. She wasn't ready to stop kissing him yet.

James groaned and scooped her up in his arms, her legs on either side of his hips, and carried her to the couch, all the while kissing her intensely, matching her moan for moan. He fell backwards onto the couch, dragging her on top of him. She gasped, grinding against his hardness. He devoured her gasp, his hands roaming across her body through her clothes.

"Okay," James let out a breathe. "We've really got to stop, please." He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand kissing her _without _ripping her clothes off.

This time, Lily was in agreement. She knew she was nowhere near ready for, well, _that_. She wanted it, but it was a scary thing to offer up her virginity. She knew she wanted to wait for the one that she loved.

_It's likely that you'll end up loving him_, the devil on her shoulder whispered, encouraging her to continue on.

But James had made up his mind. He gently lifted Lily off of him and placed her beside him on the couch, kissing her affectionately on the cheek.

"I suppose you're right," Lily agreed, trying to catch her breath.

XXXX

The next morning, James awoke to the sound of the shower turning on. He laid in bed for a moment longer, wondering if he'd dreamt up last night or if it had actually happened. _Nope, it definitely happened_, James thought. His imagination wasn't _that _detailed. His thoughts drifted pleasantly to the night before, to all the snogging and talking he and Lily had done until 2am in the morning when they finally both headed to their separate rooms for the night.

James got out of bed when he heard the shower turn off, and five minutes later he padded down the hallway to the bathroom, already dressed in his school uniform.

Lily took a couple more moments before opening the door. She'd dried her hair with a drying spell, and was already dressed in her uniform.

"Oh, good morning James," Lily said, surprised to see him waiting at the door. Absently she brought a finger to her lips, remembering their heated…_exchange_ last night.

"Good morning beautiful," James said easily, relieved that his voice didn't sound as nervous as he felt. "Did I dream up last night, or did you agree to be my girlfriend?"

Lily couldn't help but smile. "Yes, I did agree," she rolled her eyes. "Must have been temporary insanity," she added, joking, as James gently grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him for another kiss. She felt the heat spread from behind her navel, slowly and delectably like his kiss.

"Would you accompany me to breakfast?" James asked, pulling away and grinning at her cockily.

"Of course," Lily said, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at how gallivant James was sounding.

She fetched her book bag from her room and accepted James's arm. Before they made it to the portrait, she hesitated.

"What's up?" James questioned, noticing her change in demeanour.

"We'll…we're Head Boy and Head Girl," Lily said, trying to word it properly. "I'm just worried that Professor McGonagall will deem this…_inappropriate_."

"I promise I won't snog you on the table in the Great Hall," James said solemnly. Lily gave him a serious look. "Come on, they can't put two teenagers of the opposite sex who _already _have an attraction to one another in the same dormitory and expect them _not _to get together." James added, rolling his eyes.

Lily pursed her lips. "Can we just…_I don't know_, not…_flaunt _it?" she asked, flustered.

"That's the very thing I was planning on doing," James said, brushing back a strand of her hair that had fallen in her eyes. "I was planning on ensuring _everyone _knew that you're my girl."

"I know," Lily smiled. "But…I guess I just want to enjoy the newness of us _without _being subjected to gossip."

"Hate to break it to ya darling, but we're already the subject of gossip," James grinned, winking. "We share a dormitory, just the two of us."

Lily let out an exasperated sigh. "That's what I _mean_, everyone expects this."

"So?" James asked, unable to hide the hurt. "Are you _embarrassed_?"

"Merlin no!" Lily answered, shocked. "I just, never mind." She blushed.

James's hurt vanished when he realized what she was getting at. She was worried about, well, _her virtue_.

"You and I know that hasn't happened, and if or when it does, it will be _nobody's _business but our own," he told her seriously, catching her gaze and holding it. "Our relationship is just that…_ours_. People can talk, they can say whatever the bloody hell the want, but at the end it's just me and you."

That seemed to satisfy Lily, as she nodded and peeked him on the cheek before starting towards the door.

"I'll still hold your hand if I want to," James whispered in her ear, directly behind her. She laughed.

The Great Hall was already bustling and busy with students eating their breakfast and preparing for class. It wasn't uncommon for Lily and James to walk in together, so nobody really paid them a second glance.

Lily sat down across from Margo and Sirius, and James sat beside her, careful to not touch her. Lily shifted a bit so that her thigh was touching his, but she didn't look his way again. She knew her friends would be able to read them both like a book, so she quickly engaged Alice in conversation.

"Did you finish the Potions homework?" she asked, taking a bite out of a blueberry muffin. She tried not to smile, uber aware of James's closeness.

"Yes," Alice replied.

"Shit," Margo said, quickly grabbing out her Potions book and a few pieces of parchment. She shoved Sirius when he tried to snuggle her. "I need to finish, stop distracting me!"

Sirius grinned and shrugged, then turned his attention to James.

"Something's different about you," he observed, studying his friend carefully.

"Sod off," James warned him, trying not to grin. He'd decided to not flaunt things with Lily, not so soon anyway. It was enough that she was his girlfriend, only if he was the only one who knew about it - for the time being, anyway.

Sirius went to say something else, but Remus elbowed him, silencing him.

The rest of breakfast was uneventful, aside from Margo's frantic quill movements as she struggled to finish her Potions homework.

Lily, Margo and Alice decided to visit the loo before class. James watched her go with a rueful smile on his face.

"We'll I'll be a Goblin's Uncle," Sirius declared when the girls had gone. "Just what in Merlin's beard happened between you two hopeless love birds?"

"Nothing," James lied quickly, standing up.

"We know when you aren't being honest," Remus told him, collecting his book bag off the floor. The four of them stood up, Peter trailing along behind them.

"Fine…" James grumbled. "We're _together _now, alright? But we're keeping it quiet so don't any of you sodding wankers tell a soul," James confessed.

Sirius whooped, patting his pal on the back.

"It's about bloody time," Peter said, piping up from the back of their group.

In the loo, Lily was having a similar conversation with Alice and Margo as she washed her hands.

"Spill Lils," Margo demanded, arms crossed.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked innocently.

Alice and Margo exchanged a knowing look. "You and James _kissed _didn't you?" Margo asked.

Lily opted not to respond as she dried her hands. She fought to keep the embarrassment from tinting her cheeks pink.

"You did!" Margo squealed, pretty much hopping up and down. "You _finally _did!"

"We're together now," Lily confessed, unable to hide her hopeful smile.

Just then, they heard the sound of a toilet flushing. The three girls froze, they had been unaware that anyone else was in the loo.

One of the stalls opened up, and Annabel walked out. She tossed Lily a pitying look and clicked her tongue.

"What's your bloody problem?" Margo demanded, livid on behalf of her friend.

"Oh, it's not _my _problem," Annabel shrugged her shoulders. She came up to the sink to wash her hands. "It's Lily's now, I guess."

"Excuse me?" Lily pursed her lips, restraining the urge to smack Annabel's pitying smile off her face.

"Just be careful, dear. James is a womanizer," Annabel told her. "He'll play you like a game of Wizarding Chess, then toss you aside when he gets what he wants from you."

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but Annabel was already stalking out of the bathroom, tossing her brown curls over her shoulder.

"She's just being a cow," Margo told Lily quickly. "She wanted James, and _clearly _James didn't want her so now she's sulking about it."

"I know," Lily answered, biting her lip. Still, James's track record wasn't exactly spotless, like hers.

"Let's go to class," Alice said. Lily nodded in agreement, scooping up her book bag from the floor and following her friends to the Dungeons where their Potions class was.

As always, they had Potions with the Slytherins.

"Today we will be crafting a rather complicated potion. An antidote to posion!" Professor Slughorn said excitedly once all his students found their seats. "I will be choosing partners."

The class groaned in unison.

"Now now now! Don't be such spoil sports!" Professor Slughorn said, near but giggling. He started assigning partners. James ended up paired with Annabel, and Lily ended up paired with Severus.

_Perfect, just great_, Lily thought, her mood that had been so happy and chipper this morning completely turning foul as she slammed her books down on the desk beside Severus. Severus pursed his lips, but didn't say anything.

James watched helplessly from across the room, livid that Lily had to work with such a scumbag and irritated at his own Potions partner. Annabel was far too busy trying to stir the pot than focus on their assignment.

"I heard they used to snog all the time," Annabel was telling him, wrinkling her nose with disgust.

"Shut up, Annabel, that's not true," James grumbled, wishing she'd stop talking.

Across the room, Lily was slightly fuming over Annabel's not so subtle attempts at flirting with James, _her _boyfriend. Figuring there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, she tossed herself into the assignment.

"Do you plan on joining?" Lily demanded, when their potion was completed. She couldn't stand the silence anymore, and the question had been burning on her mind since she and James had overheard Severus with his house mates. Severus knew what she was referring to, but didn't reply. He clenched his jaw instead, brushing back a strand of his long greasy hair.

"I don't see why that's of any concern of yours," Severus retorted. He didn't call her Mudblood in classes, only when there were no teachers around and when James was near. Lily got the impression that he mostly did it to egg James on.

"I'll take that as a yes. I can't believe it," Lily grumbled. "I never thought _you'd _be stupid enough to fall for that crap. James was right about you."

At the mention of James, Severus's hand stilled. The quill he was holding dripped ink onto his notes, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Potter knows absolutely nothing about anything," Severus said so lowly that Lily could barely hear him.

"So you aren't joining?" Lily persisted.

Severus, again, remained silent.

"Perfect Ms. Evans, Mr. Snape!" Professor Slughorn declared. "So perfect, in fact, I'm going to add it to my Potions supply!"

Lily smiled wanly, unable to rejoice in Professor Slughorn's phrase.

"Just so you know, that's a line you can't _ever _cross back over," Lily whispered when Professor Slughorn had left. Lily would have been able to forgive a lot of things, especially when it came to her oldest friend. She would have been able to forgive him for all those times he'd called her a Mudblood or was mean to her, believing that it was the influence of his house, but this was beyond her forgiveness. She grabbed her books off the table and stormed out of the classroom.

Severus watched her go, a torn and longing look shadowing his features for half a minute. Then he realized James's glare.


End file.
